How to install Windows 10 from USB

How to Install Windows 10 From a USB Drive? Step By Step Guide

Would you like to install Windows 10 From a USB drive?

You’re probably moving from Linux, or you might want a fresh install to clean up your machine and get it all running smoothly again. Windows 10 boots conveniently from a USB stick and the process of installing Windows 10 from a bootable USB is very simple.

In this article, we learn how to install Windows 10 from a bootable USB. Within minutes you can get a fresh new version of Windows installed on your Desktop, laptop, or media center.

Why Do We Need a Windows 10 USB Drive?

Interestingly, most of the new laptops or desktop PCs come without an optical drive. And it’s safer to have a bootable USB flash drive setup for Windows 10. This Windows USB drive is very helpful when recovering your full system image.

A bootable USB stick is the best solution if your spare PC doesn’t have an optical drive or if you’re out of DVDs. You can make a USB drive bootable faster than a DVD drive and install an operating system

Whatever the reason, it’s a simple matter to install Windows. You just need to get a complete copy of the installation files from the Windows site and run it on your machine at that point.

You can use a portable USB stick to install the Windows 10 files specifically on your hard drive.

If you need to reinstall the operating system regularly or you need to install Windows on multiple machines, it’s best to use a USB stick.

How Can Make a Bootable Windows 10 USB Flash Drive?

Here Windows 10 pen drive can be made in two cases when

  1. Using the Windows media creation tool
  2. Using a Windows 10 DVD or Windows 10 .iso image

Here, the former case is easier and most people use it. But knowing the latter is also very beneficial, especially if you don’t have an active high-speed Internet connection.

Related: Is Windows Media Player For Windows 10 Available?

In both cases, the first step involved is to format the USB flash drive. Let us discuss how the USB flash drive can be formatted.

Format USB Flash Drive

Formatting is the method of completely erasing a memory device. Through this formatting process, all data on the drive or disk will be deleted. It also helps to solve most problems in the drive.

Please note that all data in it (if any) will be deleted when formatting the USB drive, so don’t forget to copy files to a safe location before initiating the formatting process.

Formatting can be done in two ways

  • Using Windows 10 system tool
  • Using a third-party software

USB Flash Drive Formatting Using Windows 10 System Tool

You should have a spare Computer to perform the USB flash drive formatting. Use a good USB flash drive with at least 5 GB of memory (8 GB is recommended) of space.

  • Attach the USB drive to the spare PC.
  • Search for ‘Create and format hard disk partitions’ and open it from the control panel.
  • Here you will get the ‘Disk Management’ window with a list of different disk partitions.
  • Right-click the USB drive and click format by selecting the file system as FAT 32
  • Then the USB flash drive will be formatted within a short time.
  • Again right-click the USB drive and click Mark Partition as Active

USB Flash Drive Formatting Using a Third-Party Software

There is a lot of third-party software available for this purpose. Here we are dealing with the EaseUS Partition Master Free software.

Insert a USB stick into your computer. It needs something like 5GB capacity as we discussed earlier.

Download and install EaseUS Partition Master Free on an idle device, which may be your old device or a friend’s.

  • Open EaseUS Master Partition.
  • Right-click the partition for the USB drive, and choose the partition for Setup.
  • From the drop-down file system list, pick the FAT32 file system (FAT32 is the best file system and can boot either BIOS or UEFI-based PCs).  
  • Save Changes to Apply.
  • Right-click the partition of the USB drive, and select Set Active. Then Click Apply to Submit.

Only when your USB flash drive partition style is primary, the Set active option is available.

Make the Windows 10 Bootable Drive by Using the Windows Media Creation Tool

In this case, we are explaining how to make a Windows 10 bootable drive using the Windows media creation tool. 

Before using the Windows media creation tool you should keep ready a USB flash drive having a memory capacity of 8GB.

Then follow the steps described below.

  1. Browse to microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10.
  2. To get a duplicate of the Windows 10 installation media, select the Download tool now.
Download media creation tool to Install Windows 10 from a USB drive
  1. Run the file that was downloaded.
  2. Choose to Create installation media when prompted.
Create installation media-Install windows 10 from a USB drive
  1. Then you will get the next screen where you have to select the language, Windows 10 edition, and system architecture.
  1. You will be asked on the next screen which media you want to use. Select a USB flash drive.

Note: Here you will get another option to download a Windows 10 iso file, which can be used for burning a Windows 10 DVD.

  1. Download and copy the installation media to the USB drive.
  2. Hit on Finish.
  3. Set the PC to boot from the USB drive that you need to install Windows. This can normally be done from the BIOS or UEFI menu of the PC. Exact instructions vary from one manufacturer to another.
  4. Insert and restart your computer with the USB stick.
  5. Follow the installation instructions on the screen.

Installing Windows 10 on an external hard drive also would be better, if you want. So you can use your own custom Windows 10 operating system anywhere you go.

Related: How do you test a Linux distribution without having to install it on your computer?

Make Windows 10 Bootable Drive from DVD or ISO Image

You should have a good USB flash drive with at least 5GB of memory space and it should be formatted before starting our main process.

Now you’re able to copy Windows 10 installation files to your USB drive. In this stage, you should have a Windows 10 DVD or an ISO image file on your spare Computer.

We can use two methods here. Copy the Windows 10 files directly from a DVD or ISO image and use the image-burning program for this purpose.

Sometimes direct copying of Windows 10 files makes a few errors, and we’re going through a simple image-burning software called UltraISO.

  • Install UltraISO in the spare PC
  • Attach the formatted USB flash drive to the PC (if you have removed it after formatting)
  • Run the UltraISO tool
  • Select ‘File’ and ‘Open” to import Windows 10 installation file
  • Select ‘Bootale’ and ‘Write hard disk image’.Here select the USB drive.
  • Then click ‘Write’ to burn the Windows 10 image.

Now your USB drive is ready and can be used as a Windows 10 bootable drive.

How to Install Windows 10 From a USB Drive?

Here we discussed two methods for making a Windows 10 bootable USB flash drive. Soon after making a bootable disk, disconnect it safely from your spare PC and add it to your target Computer.

It’s easy to use a USB stick to install Windows.

The next move is to boot your computer on which you plan to install Windows 10 using a USB drive. To boot a PC from a bootable USB, you need to make some settings in the BIOS/UEFI boot menu.

Once the system has detected a Windows 10 installation flash drive, proceed with the instructions on the screen that are self-explanatory.

In this context, it is worth reading our guide to follow up on what to do after Windows 10 has been installed.

How to Copy a Larger Windows 10 File to a FAT 32 USB Drive?

You will not be able to copy a file larger than 4 GB to a FAT32 USB flash drive due to the restriction of the FAT32 file system, but the Windows 10 image file reaches the FAT32 file size limit of 4 GB.

This way, you can repair the file copy issue.

Step 1: Use this command to copy everything to the USB drive except the Windows image file (sources\install.wim), where D: is the ISO installed and E: is the USB flash drive).

robocopy D: E: /s /max:3800000000

Step 2. Split the image file of Windows into smaller files and put the smaller files on the USB drive:

Dism /Split-Image /ImageFile: D:\sources\install.wim /SWMFile: E:\sources\install.swm /FileSize:3800

Related: Things to do after installing Windows 10

You can buy a genuine Windows 10 product key from Amazon.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to install Windows 10 without a CD or USB?

You may require installation media, such as a CD or USB drive with Windows installation files, to install Windows 10 on a computer. As a result, it is impossible to install Windows 10 without installation media.

How long does it take to install Windows 10 from a USB drive? How long to install Windows 10?

This might take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the system’s hardware configuration.

Is Windows 10 Home USB free?

There is no free version of Windows 10. Hope you’ve heard the stories about Windows 10 Home USB being given away for free!
However, if your device is running on Windows 7 or newer, you are entitled to a free update to the relevant Windows 10 version.

Can you reuse Windows 10 USB?

Of course, indeed. You can re-use the Windows 10 Pendrive if you need to reinstall Windows 10 on your computer.
It’s also a smart idea to have a Windows 10 bootable drive on reserve.

Why Windows 10 media creation tool cannot find a USB drive?

The most common cause of this issue is a defective USB drive or USB slot. Using the trial-and-error approach, determine the exact problem.

How long does it take to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10?

It is entirely dependent on the configuration of your machine and the speed of your internet connection. However, the estimated upgrade time from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is 40 minutes to an hour.

We hope you have liked this article and please consider following our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Subscribe to our free newsletter so that you will get similar articles and regular updates directly in your Email.

You May Be Interested to Read:

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *